(RFE/RL)
August 22, 2007 -- An 88-year-old Estonian man has been charged with genocide for allegedly helping deport hundreds of his countrymen to Soviet camps in 1949.

The Estonian Prosecutor's Office said today that Arnold Meri, a decorated Soviet soldier and cousin of the former Estonian president, was allegedly involved in the deportation of 251 Estonian citizens.

At least 44 of them died in Siberia or en route.

The wave of deportations Meri is alleged to have assisted came during a Soviet drive to collectivize Estonian agriculture.